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Colorado Capitol coverage is produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish: Yes, yes, we just had an election, but it’s never too soon to talk about the midterms

Members of a watch party at Renegade Brewing in Denver celebrate Proposition MM and LL passing on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.
Isabella Escobedo
/
KUNC
Members of a watch party at Renegade Brewing in Denver celebrate Proposition MM and LL passing on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.

Anti-hunger advocates and education groups did a victory dance election night, celebrating the passage of Props. MM and LL, two statewide ballot measures to increase funding for Colorado’s universal free school meal program.

CPR’s Jenny Brundin joins Purplish host Bente Birkeland to talk through what voters thought of these measures and what it means for the programs' future. They also dig into the results of school board races around the state.

Then, a pivot to look ahead at the 2026 midterms, and the big races on the horizon, including the fight for control of Congress and the candidates who hope to win the governor’s office. The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul, KUNC’s Lucas Brady Woods and CPR’s Caitlyn Kim are on the podcast this week to preview what they're watching for on as the state gears up for a big election year.

If you're enjoying the show and want everyone to know it, email us at purplish@cpr.org and we'll send you a Purplish sticker to thank you for being an awesome listener!

Purplish is produced by listener-supported CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. This episode was edited by Megan Verlee and Rachel Estabrook, and sound designed and engineered by Shane Rumsey. Theme music is by Brad Turner.

Bente Birkeland is an award-winning journalist who joined Colorado Public Radio in August 2018 after a decade of reporting on the Colorado state capitol for the Rocky Mountain Community Radio collaborative and KUNC. In 2017, Bente was named Colorado Journalist of the Year by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), and she was awarded with a National Investigative Reporting Award by SPJ a year later.
Caitlyn has been with Colorado Public Radio since 2019.
Jenny Brundin is the education reporter for Colorado Public Radio. She joined CPR in 2011. At CPR, Jenny has covered K-12, higher education and early childhood education. She led a year-long series in 2019 on why teenagers are experiencing high levels of anxiety and depression and received a fellowship from the Institute for Citizens and Scholars in 2020 for an in-depth series on expanding Colorado’s early childhood workforce.